^ THE COMMON OR PINEC-NECKED GREEK PIGEOK 
precision until dark and this regular procession may be seen 
for many evenings in succession. They will never be seen 
on the ground like the three doves of which more anon and 
in Singapore can only be confused in the held with certain 
other kinds of punai. 
We have at various times examined with binoculars a 
number of green pigeoris feeding in the tall trees of the 
Botanic Gardens and feel certain that they are always Treron 
■i'ernatis and not these other allied species which appear to 
have their own particular haunts. 
In the case of the males of t'enmns with their bright 
orange breasts no mistake is possible, but the females of all 
the small green pigeons likely to be met with locally are 
extremely similar in plumage. At the same time it may be 
remarked that mixed flocks do not seem to occur hereabouts 
and the possibility of confusion is therefore removed, In 
flight the punai appears about two-thirds the size of the heavy 
domestic pigeons kept locally. 
Other habhs : — The punai is a bird of extremely regular 
habits and its daily doings seem to be governed by rules 
almost as inflexible as those of the sea-fowl on the marshes 
at home. 
The squab is hatched from a pure white egg which unlike 
many white eggs has no great amount of polish or gloss. 
Two eggs are laid in a rough nest of dry twigs. The only 
nest we have seen was on an island near Singapore in the 
month of ApriL It was in a bush about Ave feet from the 
ground but unfortunately, and very carelessly, at the time 
we did not take special note as to whether the nest was built 
actually in the bush or whether it was attached to the tall 
fvm fronds growing around and also quite through the bush. 
This is rather an interesting point to which attention should 
be paid when nests are found. This kind of situation seems 
to be the usual one for a nest, for unlike many other pigeons 
the punai does not select the higher parts of tall trees for 
building purj>ose and the nests always seem to be placed from 
about five to ten feet only above the ground. 
[49] 
